Profile for aj88

The Distinctive Baritone said: "CoffeeBreak said: "Wow. Ato Blankson-Wood is highly overrated but this is a new miscast. He's not good as Cliff. The creative should recast CliffNOWbefore reviews. The director should have thought this through. Wow. The weakest of the bunch. He almost ruined the reality of the evening."What exactly is so bad about his performance that he has gotten so many negative reactions in the role so far on this board? It’s a tricky part but not exactly challenging. Is he...

hearthemsing22 said: "I've heard they give you stickers to put over your cameras on phones which I am a huge fan of. This seems like the kind of experience where you want to be all in and not be distracted by taking selfies, or recording bootlegs. Big fan of this!"Yes this is true. Right as you enter the theater, they put a round sticker over your camera that says "Keep it in the Kit Kat Klub". It was strong enough that after the show, it pulled my lens protector off with it.

I haven't logged into or been on BroadwayWorld in quite some time, but I did get a chance to attend the Invited Dress that happened this past Saturday so I figured I would hop on to share my thoughts.First of all, I am definitely a huge fan of Cabaret. I saw the original cast of the '98 revival on my very first trip to NY. It was the first musical at a very young age that made me realize that so much more could be done in terms of darker material. I ended up seeing various incarnations of tha...

Jordan Catalano said: "DAMNSo Elizabeth just put it all out there. This story has been known and told formany years on the “inside” and it’s now public. It’s almost like an urban legend so I’m happy it’s finally being told first hand."I saw RAGTIME on my 10th birthday back in 1998 and it was the first Broadway show I ever saw. I waited at the stage door after because I wanted to meet pretty much all of the leads (I had been obsessed with the show for months at that point) but even as a 10 yea...

I remember going to a matinee of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES back in 2011. New York got hit with a big snowstorm the night before which led to a fairly empty theatre....I would say less than half full. My then partner and I actually had box seats but the theatre was so empty that they allowed any one in the mezzanine/boxes to move down, which we promptly did. It was a testament to how good of a revival it was to how responsive the audience was that it didn’t matter its size.

Jarethan said: "winston89 said: "From what I understand, the location of the theatre has nothing to do with what makes a theatre a Broadway theatre. It has to do more with the kinds of contracts that they have with various unions etc as well as the number of seats.Back in the day, there were Broadway theatres that weren't in what we would consider to be the theatre district today. Didn't make them less of a Broadway theatre or the shows that they played in less Tony worthy."It immediately cam...

A couple have been mentioned already but one gasp of delight I once witnessed was during the 2014 revival of ON THE TOWN. When the scrim went up to reveal the Battery Park backdrop with the Staten Island Ferry chugging along in the background, the joyous awe from the audience was infectious. Also, the opening with the boat during the 2015 revival of THE KING AND I made the audience gasp in the same way.

I concur with Ann Harada. That was the very first name that popped into my head and considering some of the weak nominees they chose over her, it becomes laughable (although Anika Noni Rose was very good and a worthy selection). I also agree with Aaron Tveit for both Next to Normal and Catch Me If You Can although he only deserved nominations. Sherie Rene Scott for AIDA and Amy Spangler for KISS ME KATE should’ve happened in 2000. And lastly I also have to agree about Rachel Bay Jones in PIPP...

I definitely didn’t care for MEMPHIS at all. I have to agree with the many others that felt it benefitted from being a nominee in a weak year. Going even further than that, I honestly can’t think of another year where the show actually could’ve won...at least going back over the last 30 years. Perhaps maybe it would’ve had a shot over CONTACG or JEROME ROBBINS BROADWAY but I just feel like I would’ve ranked it an easy third behind Fela and American Idiot...I really didn’t like Million Dollar ...

“Though I suppose you could argue "Falsettoland" is a good sequel, wven though now it's just Act 2."And even the act one portion of FALSETTOS (aka March of the Falsettos) is technically a sequel to IN TROUSERS so that’s the biggest exception to the rule in my book.

Because Phantom’s score was, as many have said, repetitive...and frankly, even though I consider INTO THE WOODS to be one of Sondheim’s more overrated properties, the score is vastly superior to Phantom. And Sondheim should’ve won for SUNDAY too.

I remember the rush tickets always selling fast but then I managed to buy a ticket on TodayTix to see what I think was a Tuesday evening performance. Then at intermission, I turned my phone back on to find the announcement of its closing. A few theatre savvy people around me started to discuss it as well. It all just seemed so sudden but in retrospect, it was probably the best for them financially

I agree with quite a few of the ones mentioned. I don’t really want to repeat anything but I do have to comment on one win that truly floored me when it was announced: David Hyde Pierce. That simply felt out of nowhere and at the expense of Raul Esparza’s Bobby. I certainly don’t want to begrudge DHP because he is a wonderful actor and someone who does deserve a Tony but I just felt that there was simply nothing there. It felt like a very average paint by numbers performance whereas Esparza g...

For me, I’ve always adored the score to ANNIE GET YOUR GUN for the most part but find any version of the book to be incredibly problematic. I also second CHESS and MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG...and I also love a lot of the songs from THE BAKER’S WIFE despite its obvious issues.

Even though the rest of the songs are different from one another, the same notes are used for the title lyrics IF ONLY YOU WOULD LISTEN from School of Rock and SOMEONE ELSE’S STORY from CHESS

I also agree that the HAMILTON selection is more for ratings and even then, I'm not even entirely sure how much ratings they will manage to pull in. It's not like they did this for other big buzzed musicals like A CHORUS LINE or RENT. I do feel like it's a shame that the fifth slot was replaced at the expense of a legend.

FUN HOME deserved a longer run and that's why it gets my vote. I also think Gentleman's Guide and The Band's Visit qualify, especially the latter since it does have a passionate fan base but it also has many people who find it dull (I actually only know one other person who actually loved it, everyone else thought it was fine at best). The fact it won 10 Tony Awards will probably make some people look back on it and say it is overrated but frankly...all you have to do is see what it was up ag...

When factoring in regional theatres, I've seen Fiddler on the Roof more than any other musical. Probably around 11 times (and that includes the 2004 revival...I missed that Danny Burstein one even though I am living here now). I very seldom see a show more than once, usually because I just think time (and money) is precious. Even some of the shows I have seen more than once were more for the other person rather than my own desire to rush to it again. The winners are the original production of...

carolinaguy said: "Ugh. Louise and her scene are absolutely essential to dramatizing Max's central conflict and his humanity. Any outlet that cut it "for time" should be burned to the ground. An actress has been cast as Louise in this production, so I assume the scene remains."I'm glad to hear that. Personally, I've always loved that scene because it is such a raw, emotional moment that Beatrice Straight delivers in spades. In such a dark satire of a piece, that scene stands out in such a str...

I wouldn't be surprised if the Beatrice Straight stuff was removed entirely. There have even been television broadcasts in the past that cut her big money scene for time. I once read a few stories on IMDB years ago where people talked about watching the movie on TV and were curious about her performance only for her big monologue to be cut making her Oscar win seem even more bizarre in that context.